Scouring mitt



M. SlTEK SCOURING MITT April 24, 1951 Filed Nov. 5, 1947 Patented Apr. 24, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

The present invention pertains to a novel scouring mitt for general household and similar purposes. The principal object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive mitt adapted to hold securely a scouring pad of suitable material such as steel wool, copper shreds or the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mitt which, while retaining the scouring pad securely, exposes a substantial area thereof for contact with the work. In this manner the scouring pad is in position for use on pots and pans, basins, tubs and other such articles in the household. Further, the pad is separated from the bare hand by means of the mitt, so that the hands of the user do not become roughened, scratched or chapped. In the same connection the hands of the user are protected from infection.

In the accomplishment of these objects, the device of the invention comprises first a mitt made of a suitable thin, durable and waterproof material, such as a rubberized fabric or some of the sheet plastic materials that are now available at comparatively little cost. The mitt is of simple construction including a body or palm portion that encloses the four fingers and a separate pocket for the thumb. To the inner side of the mitt, at the fingers, is attached a patch or flap that forms a pocket. The flap is stitched to the mitt at the top and side edges of the latter, leaving an opening at the lower end of the ocket for insertion of the abrasive pad. The flap is further formed with a window or opening extending preferably to the top of the pocket and spaced from the remaining three edges of the pocket. The opening exposes a substantial area of the abrasive or scouring pad for application to the work.

The invention is fully discolsed by way of example in the following description and in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device;

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the device, and

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Reference to these views will now be made by use of like characters which are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout.

The mitt comprises a body or palm portion l and a laterally disposed pocket 2 shaped to receive the thumb, while the portion l receives the four fingers and the palm of the hand. The mitt is made in any suitable manner, as by stitching together two similar plies of the material around the edges, except at the lower edge where an opening for inserting the hand is retained. The

material is preferably waterproof, and several such materials are available such as rubberized fabrics or the several plastic sheet materials commonly used for shower curtains.

To the face of the mitt is attached a flap 3 that forms a pocket 4. The flap is attached at the upper edge and along the two side edges of the body I, leaving the lower edge of the pocket open for insertion of a scouring pad as will presently be shown. The flap is on the inner side of the mitt and extends downward substantially to the palm or the lower ends of the fingers for a purpose that will presently be described.

A window or opening 5 is formed in the flap 3 and extends preferably to the top of the flap while spaced a suitable distance from the remaining three edges. A scouring pad 6 is inserted into the pocket through the open lower edge thereof and is framed in the opening 5 as shown. A reinforcing strip 1 is preferably fastened or stitched to the flap 3 around the opening 5 and at the inner surface for reinforcement, stiffening and to limit or prevent the tearing of the material at the opening 5. The opening is of such size as to permit the material to overlap the pad 6 considerably so that it will not slip out of the open- 8.

In the use of the device, the mitt is slipped on the hand, as already indicated, with the pocket 4 at the inner side of the hand. The pad 6 may be inserted in the pocket either before or after the mitt is applied, as desired.

The exposure of the pad at the upper edge of the pocket is especially desirable since it permits the pressure of the finger tips against an exposed part of the pad when the work requires hard rubbing. It is also advantageous to prevent the pad from slipping downward through the open end of the pocket, and this purpose is accomplished by the positioning of the pocket with relation to the body of the mitt. Since the pocket extends to the lower ends of the fingers or substantially to the base line 8 of the thumb '2, the pad is retained or pushed back into the pocket by slightly bending the fingers. In fact the hand is likely to assume this position in the course of the work, so that the pad is maintained into the pocket without additional conscious effort. Obviously, the pad 6 may easily be renewed as frequently as desired.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be understood that various alterations in the details of construction may be made without departing 3 from the scope of the invention as indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A scouring mitt comprising a body portion adapted to enclose the fingers and palm of the hand, a thumb-receiving portion extending laterally therefrom, a flap secured to said body portion at the upper part thereof to form a pocket with an open :edge, said flap having an opening of substantial area for exposing a scouring pad inserted in the pocket, said fiap extending downward to substantially the base line of said thumb portion, said pocket having its opening at the lower end of said flap, said opening in the flap extending to the upper edge of said body portion and being spaced substantially from the respectively adjacent side and bottom edges of said flap,

whereby a pad inserted in the pocket is overlapped at its upper edge by said flap.

2. A scouring mitt comprising a body portion adapted to enclose the fingers and palm of the hand, a thumb-receiving portion extending laterally therefrom, a fiap secured to said body portion at the upper part thereof to form a pocket with an open edge, said flap having an opening 25 of substantial area for exposing a scouring pad inserted in the pocket, said flap extending downward to substantially the base line of said thumb portion, said pocket having its opening at the lower end of said flap, said opening in the flap extending to the upper edge of said body portion and being spaced substantially from the respectively adjacent side and bottom edges of said flap, whereby a pad inserted in thepocket is overlapped at its upper edge by said flap, and a reinforcing frame secured to said flap around said opening.

MARY SITEK.

REFERENCES CETED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,030,494 Bireley Feb. 11, 1936 2,103,455 Greenwald Dec. 28, 1937 2,265,329 Wachs Dec. 9, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7 344,932 France July 18, 1904 

